Review of The Idolmaker (1980) by Chris M — 28 Sep 2009
The Idolmaker is one of the best movies you've never seen. It's effortlessly entertaining with some great rock tunes and a caravan of interesting characters to follow around throughout the story. It's funny, touching, sad, and even pathetic at times. These are real, flawed characters and that just makes them so much more interesting to watch. The story is essentially a gender reversed version of the musical Gypsy, which when you think about it is actually a pretty awesome concept. Our Madame Rose here, is Ray Sharkey as Vinnie, a driven New York waiter with a knack for singing and song writing. The problem is that he doesn't have the face of a teen idol. One by one, Vinnie turns two green nobodies into overnight sensations.
As Vinnie, Ray Sharkey is phenomenal. We crave his moment in the spotlight even more than he does. He's charismatic, driven and even a little terrifying. It's not an easy role and Sharkey more than makes it work. It's a shame Sharkey never really found much success in mainstream cinema as he certainly has the chops and charisma for it.
Look out for a really young Peter Gallagher as Guido a.k.a. Ceasre a young bus boy turned icon.
The Idolmaker is a great drama that I hope others will enjoy as much as I did. It's an obscure diamond in the ruff that has been sadly skipped over. It's worth your time to track it down.
This review of The Idolmaker (1980) was written by Chris M on 28 Sep 2009.
The Idolmaker has generally received positive reviews.
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